UN to boost political role in Iraq

UN to boost political role in Iraq
By Mark Turner at the United Nations
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: August 10 2007 19:54 | Last updated: August 10 2007 19:54


The United Nations Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted an ambitious blueprint to boost the UN’s political role in Iraq, almost exactly four years after a truck bomb destroyed its Baghdad headquarters and killed many of its brightest officials.

As coalition forces seek to pull back, sectarian tensions worsen and the humanitarian situation deteriorates, the decision reflects a hope that the UN can breathe new life into Iraq’s flagging political process.

But UN staff are warning against taking on too much too soon, while the Iraqi government has been at pains to assert its authority, saying any expanded UN role should be at its invitation.

Senior UN officials have played down suggestions the UN is being asked to fill a vacuum as the US-led coalition prepares to withdraw.

Instead, they say, the resolution updates political tasks the UN has already begun to take on, and offers the potential for more formal mediation between Iraq’s internal factions – should they want it – as well as with Iraq’s neighbours, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

The “ceiling” for UN staff numbers in Iraq will be raised from 65 to 95, but the shift will focus on “quality rather than quantity”. Many details still need to be resolved – including the replacement for Ashraf Qazi, the current UN envoy.

One of the UN’s most sensitive tasks will be in the settlement of disputed internal boundaries, including who administers the contested town of Kirkuk.

One UN official described the situation in the oil-rich town, claimed by Kurds, Arabs and others, as a “vast IED (an improvised explosive device)...sitting on the highway to transition”, as tensions rise ahead of a vote to determine the status of Iraq’s disputed regions.

The UN may help design and administer the poll, scheduled for the end of the year, but officials warn the conditions are not in place, and that going too fast could trigger serious instability.

Qubad Talabani, the Kurdish region’s Washington envoy, said: “There could be some merit to a limited UN involvement now,” but it has “got to be Iraqis that make the decision”.

He added: “The longer we delay in resolving this crisis the more likely tensions are going to rise.”

Baghdad is focusing many of its demands on a scale-up of UN humanitarian assistance.

Margareta Wahlstrom, from the UN’s aid arm Ocha, said there were efforts to increase resource flows through local actors, but any rise in international staff would “happen incredibly slowly”.

Another UN official said: “The Iraqi government wants a more technical, humanitarian engagement. Much of the international community says, ‘Yes, but the principal cause of the disaster is a political one’.”